05/03/2006 - 1ST SUNDAY OF LENT -
Year B
First Reading Genesis 9:8-15 Psalm 24/25
Second Reading 1 Peter 3:18-22 Gospel Mark 1:12-15
In the Bible, this is how the Second Commandment reads: "You shall not
make wrongful use of the name of the Lord, Your God; for the Lord will not acquit
anyone who misuses His name" (Ex. 20:7). It is a word that pertains to
the name of God! What is a name? It is the term with which we identify or distinguish
one person from all others. What is the word with which we identify our God
from the infinity of divinity adored by mankind? Before Jesus, He was called
"the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob" and after Jesus, he was known
as "God, the Father of Our Lord, Jesus Christ"! We always identify
God with names of men, of concrete persons who lived on this earth, so that
we are not running after someone's fantasy! God is not an idea, but someone
recognizable! Abraham obeyed Him and believed Him, and his life was shaped by
Him. Jesus taught us to call God "Father", just as He Himself did
in His prayers and His teachings. So what can using His name "in vain"
mean? The term "in vain" can be translated "for no reason",
where nothing does not exist. For the biblical man, what "does not exist"
are the idols! Do not treat God as if He were an idol, a nothing that you can
place wherever you choose and who, you might think, will do whatever you wish!
We have just begun the Season of Lent, a time in which we are busy renewing
and continuing our obligation to convert to the Lord. So that we might be ready
to listen to the Gospel, the Readings tell us about Noah. Noah is someone who
was obedient to God, a man who perseveres in living his life with integrity.
That's why he is deemed worthy of establishing a covenant with God, for the
salvation of his whole family, and of all living things. These are things which
are also important to man! Noah was spared the punishment of the sins of the
world by water. He is, therefore, the prefiguring of ourselves, who have been
bathed in water at baptism and, through this gesture, we are saved. We have
been placed in the heart of God! In His heart, God fills us with love, so as
to redeem us and heal the wounds, with which our enemy has torn us apart. The
enemy is always ready to trap us! He continues to tighten the grip, but do not
fear for he has already been defeated by Jesus!
Briefly, the Gospel reminds us of this moment in the life of the Lord. The Holy
Spirit drove Him into the desert so that He could live the Word, which says:
"See, I will draw Him to me, I will take Him to the desert and I will speak
to His heart". In the desert, Jesus perseveres, even though His happiness
with His Father was troubled and made difficult by the very enemy of man. The
enemy does everything to deter man from the obedience of God and bring him to
ruin! He wants us to be fearful of God and draw us away from Him. He even tempted
Jesus.
The Evangelist Mark does not linger to describe the temptations, but we can
imagine that they are similar to those which confronted the people of Israel
in the forty years they spent in the desert. They were tempted with hunger and
thirst, jealousy for those in authority, and confrontation with other people's
way of living. Temptation is that internal feeling which makes us believe that
we can do everything ourselves, instead of asking for God's help. It is not
listening to God and treating Him as a jealous master, instead of a loving God.
Jesus does not "complain" like the people in the desert. He does not
judge God, but continues to remember that He is the Father and, as a father,
He loves the Son; He speaks to Him; He tells Him how to live; He wants Jesus
to be great, with the same loving greatness as the Father, Himself. This is
why He chooses the Word as bread of life! Jesus does not give in to temptation;
He perseveres for forty days, the time necessary for His faith to be tested,
so that He can show Himself and the Father, and us, as well, that He continues
to be an obedient son. "He was with the wild beasts" Mark tells us:
Jesus' obedience and love towards the Father gives back to Creation the possibility
of living in an earthly paradise, where man has no enemies, not even among the
animals! "He was with the wild beasts" may also mean that Jesus, as
the Son of the Father, persevered in difficult and heavy situations, even though
His life was at risk. "The angels waited on Him": God is thinking
of Jesus and He chooses not to worry about Himself, but abandons Himself to
God's providence! By having faith in the Father, He can begin to preach, so
that He can solemnly announce the beginning of the Reign of God!
I will try to translate the brief phrases which Jesus announced: "The time
has come for God to fulfill His promises and His kingdom is near. So that you
may be happy, change your way of thinking and your expectations, because God
loves you and He is ready to save you! To enjoy the Reign of God, so different
from human reign, unite yourself to the King, learn from Him, love Him, serve
Him, and obey Him! Don't believe in God for fear of His punishment; instead,
trust in Him joyfully because you know that He loves all men as His children.
Your life will be a joyous testimony to the One sent by Him!"